Arrest, seizures made in Montreal passport forgery operation

A Surete du Quebec (SQ) police cruiser. (Daniel J. Rowe/CTV News)

The Quebec police economic and cybercrime unit arrested an individual and seized fake passport-making material, while officers look to retrieve “significant sums of money” from a bank account.

The provincial police (SQ) said that an individual was arrested and released on bail, but is facing forgery, possession or trafficking of a counterfeit document and money laundering charges after a July 8 search and seizure.

Police say they seized more than 250 items used to make fake documents such as passport covers and bank cards. They also seized three vehicles.

“The equipment seized is very sophisticated, allowing the production of high-quality documents,” said Captain Marie-Hélène Poulin. “A range of counterfeit documents could be produced at this laboratory, including complete passports (Canada, France, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Italy), driver’s licenses (Quebec, Ontario, British Columbia, New Brunswick, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Florida), birth certificates (Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia), firearms acquisition permits and Quebec health insurance cards.”

The Economic Crimes and Cybercrime Investigation Service (SECÉC) is made up of officers from the SQ, who worked with Montreal and Gatineau police investigators.